Do you ever just have times when you feel so anxious about something in your life? You feel like you need something to happen immediately… like maybe a week ago would have been nice? Do you ever let something invade your mind space SO much that you have dreams about it weekly? I’m talking dreams that are SO vivid you can smell things or even feel things in the dream…
I DO.
And to be perfectly honest, it’s pretty cool. I went to a spiritual median and she told me it stemmed from being very creative. Me, creative? Gosh I don’t really feel like a creative soul at all. I feel ordinary, plain, and simple.
Here lately I’ve been having dreams about the house we’ve been planning to build. There’s nothing holding us back right now financially….. but the time just isn’t “right” we have “things” to tend to between the both of us.. work, kids, just in general life wise.
But that doesn’t really evict all these house ideas from my mental space.
I found myself laughing out loud today in the kitchen when I thought about all of the things I wanted in the next house and how so many of them are here in this really old house were renting… at our old house I always complained about not having glass doors so I could let the sun shine in and watch Aspen play outside. Here, I have three! And they all face every direction I need them to in order to see Aspen outside. I want a porch. A real porch, that I can put a swing on… decorate for holidays, and hang giant Boston Ferns from…. here, I have that porch. It’s the perfect size for a swing, it’s covered and I could certainly put some ferns out there. A nice private yard, where neighbor kids aren’t stomping through randomly and my kids toys aren’t disappearing from and landing three houses down every day…. I have that yard here. It even came complete with an old wooden swing hanging from the tree in the yard.
There are lots of other “things” I could go on and on about that hit me today. Isn’t it weird how sometimes it becomes completely evident that were exactly where we’re supposed to be at this point in life? To me it’s really weird! But today I’m totally thankful for this reminder.
So mother nature has been really giving with snow this year. We haven’t had a “good” snow at all since Aspen has been around. I have to say, she is absolutely loving it! I was kind of dreading the in and out in and out that I thought sledding would bring, but seriously, there’s been none of that. She’s been outside using the sled for hours on end and when she’s been done, she’s done! We took G out into the snow and I can’t really say he was impressed as I had anticipated. Maybe it had to do with the fact he was packed tighter into that snow suit than a processed hotdog. I don’t know!
Am I the only one in Kentucky who has noticed all of our snow days have arrived on a Thursday, Friday, or Monday to start? This has made for some awesome long weekends. Dare I really say that.. when I have close friends scrambling t find trustworthy babysitters since their job’s don’t cancel for frost on the windshield!? Ehhhrmm.. Heck. I’ll still say it. Awesome!
The black bibs Aspen has been using for the snow were bought last year for $5 with the anticipation of a ski trip over holiday break (that didn’t happen due to ticket prices never being fair). But any who, they’ve turned out to be a fabulous $5 spend!
Hopefully the snow will soon clear up and everyone will be back to their normal routines. When I read facebook stat’s about how annoyed so many parents are by having their kids home, I really get it – they might have poorly worded their frustrations – But I get it. Everyone’s out of the routine, the kids are stuck in, they miss their friends, they’re going off the wall, some parents are missing work, struggling to find sitters if they aren’t missing work and after about 4 days everyone is just ready to get back to the usual grind… Hang in there, Moms!!!
Today a friend posted a question on Facebook about training pants and it took me back to my potty training experiences with Payton and Aspen.
Let me tell ya.. I came a lonnng way between the two. I remember when Payton turned two I thought that was the magic number to be “potty-trained”. So on his first day back to preschool post 2nd birthday I put him in training pants and ended up with a pee soaked carseat before we made it to the preschool. As if that wasnt a big enough sign I continued my ignorance and really inconvenienced myself for weeks until I finally decided we would just go back to diapering.
Aspen’s potty training was much different. I wasn’t in so much of a hurry for her to just grow up and move to the next milestone (I think the more kids we have the more we can clearly see just how quickly their time being little really is). We waited, didn’t rush whatsoever.
A little after her 30 month birth anniversary we presented her with the potty and she adapted very quickly. It was surprisingly easy and I attribute it to her being 100% ready.
My best tip to any of my friends (or 10 very loved readers) taking a trip on the potty train it’s to throw out everything you think should happen and let your little one set the time frame. You’ll be much less frustrated.
My punctuality was turned upside down when Greyson made his debut into my life. I guess I should have seen this coming since his not so timely arrival resulted in me having to cancel on 2 brides that I was meeting with 8 & 32 hours later.
During busy months at work I could have to leave the house 7 times a day for around 30 minutes to 2 hours at a time. Hiring formal help with the kids hasn’t ever been practical for us because my job is very inconsistent and truly I want to be with them as much as I can.
Even outside of work being on time with young kids can be work. So many unpredictable things pop up; Dirty diapers, wardrobe malfunctions, an unexpected nap…. and if you have a baby or kid that doesn’t sleep well you really want to carpe diem on that moment.
So any way.. these ideas aren’t limited to the self employed person who takes their kids to work, these are methods I use in everything that involves rolling outta the house.
1. Plan to leave 30 minutes prior to when you actually have to leave- This is the most sanity saving method I have been adapting to. Unfortunately I cant always do this because if a client calls and wants an appointment in 20 minutes, that means 30 minutes earlier doesn’t exist. I do use this idea any time I can though. Birthday parties, appointments or any other types of trips that can be planned out ahead.
2. Tell Your Kids The Plan- If there’s one thing I can tell you about Aspen and Payton it’s that a meltdown is more likely to happen if they don’t know what were about to do. Saying “Go to the car” and not much else never wins with them. So I always try to inform them of the plan when I can.
3. Pack A Family Bag- These days I always have a family bag packed for us. Snacks, clothes, wallet, baby wearing necessities, cups.. whatever any of us need. It’s usually in there. I like to keep it in my car because it’s one less thing I have to worry about when I leave.
4. Don’t Go- Remember that you don’t always have to go. Sometimes it’s better to just stay home. I understand life wont always involve working around the needs of our dependents and one day we will be able to do anything on the fly but right now just isn’t it. So sometimes. . I just decline.
Do you exchange a Christmas gift (s) with your husband or wife? In this relationship the answer would be no we don’t.
WHY?
You see, the truth is husband and I literally already have everything we want and need that fits into our financial plan. Not to mention if I actually did make a big purchase it would probably drive husband crazy wondering whether or not I went through the appropriate cash back portals, used the correct credit card that would return the most airline points with the specific store and last but not least he would undoubtedly be hoping I bought it on SALE (because we only make purchases when they are on sale, with a coupon , and through either shop discover or another appropriate shopping portal) and I feel like that would just be too much craziness.
Usually we make a purchase together that we unwrap in front of the kids so they feel like were all apart of the magic in the same way they are. It’s always something practical and useful (last year it was a new printer).
I probably sound like grinch for admitting this but I don’t think either of us feel any disappointment with the way we’ve decided to handle our gift exchange.
Until next time… Ho! Ho! Ho!
Watching:
Scandal – Wow Olivia Pope & Associates consistently has me wanting more! HONESTLY this is hands down my favorite show on television right now. I can’t say more because I know I have a family reading this right now and they’re probably 2 seasons behind me.
Sons of Anarchy- not my absolute favorite but I have had dreams of husband and I joining the M.C – can’t wait to see if Tara lost it this past week or not.
Parenthood- Not much to say here besides I’m still with it.
Drinking:
Etim Blanc 2011- dry/white. In my opinion it’s an everything wine. Good for all occasions. Not an economy wine but it won’t break the bank either. In my opinion it was smooth but husband gagged. I must have a more elegant taste.
Burning:
So three weeks or so I was at T.J Maxx and while in the check out lane I impulsively grabbed a candle by Village Candles called Campfire Tales and it is absolutely the most fantastic. Think s’ mores and warmth in a candle and thats this candle.
It’s awesome but the bad news is it doesn’t officially hit the shelves until 2014.
The end.
Every year on November 16th (husbands birthday) we put up our Christmas tree. People say that’s early but we feel like its perfect timing. Putting up the Christmas tree is a lot of work. Why only allow yourself to enjoy it for only 25 days?
We dont put up the tree early with the mindset of skipping Thanksgiving or even to rush through the holiday season. We do it to enjoy it even longer. We truly appreciate all the meaning of Thanksgiving and plan to celebrate it all the same. We’ll just be coming home to our beautiful tree in between now and then too 🙂
“I wrote this review as a part of a Blog Friendly PR outreach campaign for CARD.com, I was compensated for me time but all opinions are my own.”
Recently I was given the opportunity to try out the services of Card.com. To be honest mainly I decided to try them out with the intent of doing the envelope system with a twist. I actually REALLY thought the services offered by Card.com were very practical and for many very useful! Why would I want to use a card from card.com instead of my regular debit card from the bank? Well for me it was simple. The money in the bank is like a train station. It arrives there from husband and I working and then we shift it into other accounts. I.E savings, vacation, car, home, insurance and of course…. PAYING BILLS! Mentally I have an aversion to removing money from that account. I like to have it in it’s own individual place. Not to forget, the “Where’s Waldo” design I was able to choose was just really fun :D. In my opinion the services offered by Card.com would be very beneficial to anyone who likes to do the envelope system but would rather not have to carry cash, college students who are being sent money from home, anyone traveling or even just as your every day banking account. 
Overall I found the services and benefits of CARD.com to be beneficial. I don’t plan to continue using them exclusively at this point but may consider it later.
I chose the Where’s Waldo design for my card! Check out the awesome options and let me know which you choose!
Here are few more perks about CARD.com
- This is a debit card, like the one from your bank, and you can use it EVERYWHERE Visa is accepted — except it’s way cooler and cuter than your boring bank card.
- Free to order, activate and load.
- Free app and check deposits from your smartphone.
- Free direct deposit.
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- No debt, financially responsible, no interest/credit/APRs.
- No credit check and approval in seconds.
- 22,000 in-network ATMs.
Cuisinart CI22-24CR Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron 10-Inch Round Fry Pan, Cardinal Red
So with the holidays quickly approaching I thought I’d start sharing some of my favorite things that in my opinion would make terrific holiday gifts.
With that being said I thought there would be no better place to start than with my new favorite skillet that just so happens to be on Amazon for half off! I recently purchased this skillet (in cardinal) and have found it to be a great pleasure. I love cast iron for many reasons but #1 would have to be the fact that it can be used in the oven or stove-top and #2 being that cast iron cooks everything evenly. I urge you to click fast and buy this skillet for the cooker in your life. I look forward to adding many more cast iron pieces to DelaneyLand.
Amazon Prime is hands down the best yearly service we choose to pay for. It’s amazing to have FREE two-day delivery on ANY and I MEAN ANY product we order. You can gain your opportunity to experience Prime for the really awesome price of free! Yep, you read it right. Just off the top here are a few perks of being a Prime member.
- Kindle lending service- You can check out books for FREE on your Kindle device.
- Amazon Prime Streaming- If you think Netflix is great you’ll love Amazon’s rendition. It’s great! So many movies for the entire family to choose from.
- FREE 2 day shipping- Recently we ordered a basketball goal. Not only did we strike an awesome deal but we had it shipped (it weighed 75 lbs.) to our door FREE.
Follow this link to get the Prime experience today!
All Things Delaney 